Game plans · Thursday, November 20
How each team beats its opponent. Where to attack, and what to take away.
Plan any matchup
Kings at Pacers
How the Kings beat the Pacers
- AttackAttack midrange15.1% of Kings shots come from midrange (1st most), and the Pacers allow 45.4% there (30th of 30).
- AttackAttack the paint26.4% of Kings shots come in the paint (1st most), and the Pacers allow 47.1% there (27th of 30).
- Key scorerKey scorer: Pascal SiakamSiakam (24.0 points per game): best in the paint (47% on 330 shots, league 44%), worst from midrange (33%, league 42%). 34% on the left side, 43% on the right; push him left.
How the Pacers beat the Kings
- Take awayTake away the paint26.4% of Kings shots come in the paint (1st most) and they make 45.7% (9th). The Pacers defense there ranks 27th (47.1% allowed).
- AttackAttack midrange11.6% of Pacers shots come from midrange (7th most), and the Kings allow 43.7% there (27th of 30).
- Key scorerKey scorer: Zach LaVineLaVine (19.2 points per game): best from the corners (45% on 55 shots, league 39%), worst from midrange (40%, league 42%). 37% on the left side, 45% on the right; push him left.
| Zone | SAC offense | IND defense | IND offense | SAC defense |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| At the rim | 68.2% (6th) | 66.3% (17th) | 64.1% (26th) | 69.8% (28th) |
| Paint | 45.7% (9th) | 47.1% (27th) | 45.0% (15th) | 48.7% (29th) |
| Midrange | 41.8% (16th) | 45.4% (30th) | 39.8% (22nd) | 43.7% (27th) |
| Corner 3 | 35.1% (28th) | 39.4% (22nd) | 37.2% (23rd) | 39.0% (17th) |
| Above-the-break 3 | 33.7% (25th) | 34.2% (8th) | 35.1% (15th) | 37.6% (30th) |
Matchups on Thu, Nov 20
- Clippers at Magic
How the Clippers beat the Magic
- Key scorerKey scorer: Paolo BancheroBanchero (22.2 points per game): best from the corners (44% on 52 shots, league 39%), worst in the paint (35%, league 44%).
- AttackAttack the rimThe Clippers shoot 69.4% at the rim (3rd), and the Magic allow 67.5% there (21st of 30).
How the Magic beat the Clippers
- Key scorerKey scorer: Brandon IngramIngram (21.5 points per game): best from the corners (52% on 93 shots, league 39%), worst from above the break (33%, league 35%).
- TempoPush the paceThe Magic play at 99.3 possessions per 48 minutes (12th in pace), the Clippers at 95.6 (28th). Run and make them keep up.
- Kings at Grizzlies
How the Kings beat the Grizzlies
- AttackAttack midrange15.1% of Kings shots come from midrange (1st most), and the Grizzlies allow 43.1% there (24th of 30).
- Take awayTake away the paint22.1% of Grizzlies shots come in the paint (4th most) and they make 45.9% (8th). The Kings defense there ranks 29th (48.7% allowed).
How the Grizzlies beat the Kings
- AttackAttack the paint22.1% of Grizzlies shots come in the paint (4th most), and the Kings allow 48.7% there (29th of 30).
- AttackAttack the above-the-break 333.0% of Grizzlies shots come from above the break (8th most), and the Kings allow 37.6% there (30th of 30).
- 76ers at Bucks
How the 76ers beat the Bucks
- Key scorerKey scorer: Tyler HerroHerro (20.5 points per game): best in the paint (58% on 165 shots, league 44%), worst from midrange (36%, league 42%).
- Take awayTake away the corner 313.4% of Bucks shots come from the corners (3rd most) and they make 42.9% (2nd). The 76ers defense there ranks 20th (39.1% allowed).
How the Bucks beat the 76ers
- TurnoversTake care of the ballThe 76ers force turnovers on 12.8% of plays (8th) and the Bucks give it away on 13.3% (27th of 30).
- Key scorerKey scorer: Jaylen BrownBrown (28.7 points per game): best in the paint (50% on 434 shots, league 44%), worst from midrange (40%, league 42%).
- Hawks at Spurs
How the Hawks beat the Spurs
- Key scorerKey scorer: Victor WembanyamaWembanyama (25.0 points per game): best at the rim (75% on 389 shots, league 66%), worst from midrange (39%, league 42%).
How the Spurs beat the Hawks
- Key scorerKey scorer: Jalen JohnsonJohnson (22.5 points per game): best at the rim (69% on 397 shots, league 66%), worst in the paint (42%, league 44%).
How this works
Each plan is a short list of rules applied to both teams' season numbers. Every item shows its numbers and ranks out of 30 so you can check it. At most 5 items per team, the biggest edges first.
- Attack: a shot zone where the team is good (top 10 in FG% or in share of its shots) and the opponent's defense there is bottom 8 in FG% allowed (bottom 10 if that finds fewer than 2).
- Take away: the opponent's favorite zone (top 5 in share, top 8 if fewer than 2 qualify) where they are also efficient (top 10 FG%), with the team's own defensive rank there.
- Target: of the opponent's 5 most-used lineups, the one that allows the most points per 100 possessions, with at least 100 possessions and at least 3 points worse than the team's own defensive rating. All 5 players must still be on the team.
- Key scorer: the opponent's top scorer on the current roster (100+ shots). Best and worst zones compare his FG% with the league average there (50+ shots per zone). A side lean shows only when he has 60+ shots on each side and a gap of 6+ points. Left and right are as our shot charts draw them (rim at the bottom), and shots at the rim are left out of the side split.
- Tempo and glass: a pace gap of 2+ possessions per 48 minutes; offensive rebounding, defensive rebounding and turnovers when one team is top 5 and the other bottom 5 (widened to 8 when fewer than 2 edges show up).
Data: team zones come from every counted regular season shot (made and missed; backcourt heaves left out; left and right corner 3s combined). Defense zones use the shots each team allowed. Lineups come from our play-by-play lineup stints. Before a team has played 10 games this season, its plan uses last season's numbers with today's roster, and lineups that no longer exist are skipped.
What it cannot see: there is no tracking data, so no defender distance, individual matchups or play types (pick and roll, isolation, post ups). Team zone numbers include every player a team used, even ones who have left. Injuries and rest are not in the plan, and season numbers can hide a recent change in form.